Sir Hudson Lowe (1769-1844):
From An Encyclopedia of Napoleon's Europe by Alan Palmer, 179:
‘British soldier and colonial governor: born in Galway, the son of an army surgeon, and spent most of his early years accompanying his father's regiment, particularly in America, and having only brief schooling in Salisbury. He was gazette ensign in 1787, becoming captain in 1795 and thereafter seeing service mainly in the Mediterranean, including Corsica, where he remained on garrison duty for two years and picked up a smattering of French and Italian. In 1810 he was military governor of two of the Ionian Islands retaken from the French, Cephalonia and Ithaca. He was attached to Blucher's army as a senior liaison officer in 1813-1814, first catching sight of Napoleon through his spyglass on the battlefield of Bautzen. Lowe was humane but unimaginative, insensitive and pedantic. When appointed Governor of St Helena in the autumn of 1815 he was advised to take a wife with him as hostess and quickly found a convenient widow. He arrived on St Helena in April 1816, tightened restrictions on Napoleon's movements and had five interviews with the Emperor (‘General Bonaparte' to Lowe) before Napoleon refused again to receive him; their relations worsened when the obtuse Lowe declined to allow a marble bust of Napoleon's son, which had arrived from Europe, to be delivered to his distinguished prisoner. Lowe arrived back in London in September 1821 and was much criticized by the Whig opposition for his conduct of affairs on St Helena. He became Governor of Antigua in 1823 and held a high administrative post in Ceylon from 1825-1830, when he was retired with the rank of lieutenant-general.'
From A Dictionary of Napoleon and His Times by Hubert Rickardson, 283-284:
‘An Irishman by birth, being the son of a surgeon, John Lowe. He entered his father's regiment at Gibraltar in 1787, and experienced service in Corsica, Elba, and Portugal. He commanded a motley brigade of Corsican exiles at Minorca, who for want of a better name were styled the ‘Corsican Rangers,' and at the head of these he went through the Egyptian campaign of 1800-1801. When war broke out with France in 1805 he once more recruited in Corsica, and with the brigade collected on that occasion assisted in the defense of Sicily. He helped to defend Capri against Murat, but with other commanders he had perforce to evacuate the island, a circumstance which seems to have rankled in a mind never possessed of much generous emotion to friend or enemy. Until his appointment as custodian of Napoleon his progress does not call for any remark, consisting as it did of mere mechanical promotion. The regrettable act which placed such a person, unsuitable for the position by every circumstance of disposition and training, as a virtual jailer over a man of such exalted and sensitive character as the Emperor can only be accounted for as an ebullition of malice on the part of the British government scarcely conceivable as emanating from men of even ordinary magnanimity-an act which must be considered as among the most designedly unchivalrous in history. After the death of Napoleon in 1821 Lowe returned to England and received the ‘thanks' of George IV. He at first intended to prosecute O'Meara on the appearance of his book, but considered discretion the better part of valor. From 1825-1830 he commanded the forces in Ceylon, and in 1842 returned to the 50th regiment as colonel. He died in 1844. He appears to be an officer of merely average ability, a man of little chivalry or tact, and his claim to gentility and polish appears very doubtful even in days when military men were not overburdened with refinement.'
From the Historical Dictionary of Napoleonic France, edited by Owen Connelly, the article on Hudson Lowe was written by Rachel Schneider, 313-314:
‘…After the war began with France in 1793, Lowe, then a captain, was active in the siege of Corsica. In 1799 at Minorca, he organized a corps, the Corsican Rangers, composed of royalist emigres, whom he successfully commanded against the French in Egypt in 1800-1801. In 1803, as a lieutenant colonel, he reorganized the Royal Corsican Ranger Battalion for the defense of Capri. In Octobe 1808, Joachim Murat attacked the island, and Lowe, lacking sufficient naval support and having only 1,362 men to oppose more than 3,000 French, was forced to withdraw. During 1809, however, Lowe and his Corsicans achieved victories in the Ionian Islands expeditions. In January 1813, he was sent to Russia to organize, under British command, a legion of German deserters from the Grande Armee. During the campaign of 1813-1814, he participated in thirteen major battles and was praised by [Blucher and Gneisenau] for his conduct. His military recored resulted in his being knighted, promoted to major general, and decorated by the courts of Prussia and Russia. After Napoleon's escape from Elba, Lowe was named quartermaster of the army of the Prince of Orange…and then commander of the British troops in Genoa.'
‘In August 1815, Lowe was informed of his appointment as the new governor of St Helena. Napoleon reached St Helena ahead of him on 17 October 1815. For the first two months Napoleon lived in a garden pavilion at The Briars, the residence of William Balcombe, and had complete freedom of St Helena. His only military guard was an orderly officer. In December 1815, he moved to Longwood, which had been remodeled to house his entourage. It location was on a plateau 1,700 feet above sea level, five miles from the nearest port, and within sight of the army camp at Deadwood. Napoleon was permitted to ride for twelve miles without escort, and his own household issued visitors' passes.'
‘All of this changed when General Sir Hudson Lowe arrived on 14 April 1816 with new regulations from Lord Bathurst, Britain's colonial secretary. Henceforth no item could be delivered to Napoleon that used any title or emblem of sovereignty; Napoleon would be addressed as General Bonaparte; all correspondence and visitors' passes would be handled by the governor; further limits were placed on where he could ride without surveillance; his presence at Longwood had to be confirmed twice a day; and the expenditure for the entire Longwood household was set at 8,000 pounds. Lowe's background, together with the new regulations, precluded any cordiality between the two men.'
‘As the former commander of the Corsican Rangers, Lowe's appointment seemed tactless, if not insulting, to Napoleon. The punctilious manner in which Lowe enforced the rules led to charges of extreme severity. A campaign of what Lowe considered calumny was begun against the ‘jailer' by the Longwood contingent, including Napoleon's personal physician, the British naval surgeon Dr Barry O'Meara. Napoleon became a recluse, staying in his private apartments and threatening to shoot anyone who forced entry to verify his presence. He blamed his declining health on the riding restrictions…Stories of pettiness and even cruelty reached Europe and England, until public opinion forced Bathurst to order Lowe to relax some of the restrictions. Napoleon's allowance was increased to 12,000 pounds. Lowe would not ease security, however, fearing most an escape from St Helena against his record. In 1818, the Congress of Aix-le-Chapelle tacitly approved Lowe's work by reaffirming the conditions of exile.'
‘Following the death of Napoleon in May 1821, Lowe returned to England, where he was thanked by George IV, but public opinion rose up against him with the publication of Napoleon in Exile, A Voice from Saint Helena written by Dr O'Meara. Lowe intended to prosecute the doctor, but, inexplicable, never did…Whether justly or not, it is as Napoleon predicted: Lowe is remembered only for his conduct toward Napoleon on St Helena.'
